"We feel like despite all of the transparency speak, you know like their website now and everything, they are still having meetings behind closed doors," Sayuri Sakamoto, a special needs teacher and Oakland Education Association board member, said.

OUSD's superintendent, Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, is proposing a cut of $21.75 million to the district. The public got to view her proposal and a breakdown of the numbers at Wednesday night's meeting.

The money is coming out of five categories, Central Administration ($11.93 million reduction), Central Services to School Sites ($3.75 million reduction), School Sites Discretionary Funds ($3 million reduction), Contracts and Max. Restricted Funds ($1.47 million reduction), Operational Savings ($1.6 million).

Among many things, the proposal includes cuts to school counselor positions, teacher training, central office staff, and the restorative justice program, which did not go over well with students.

"We should not have to suffer because of your inability to manage money," a student told the district's board during Wednesday's public comment period.

"So here's the challenge," Shanthi Gonzales, director of district 6, said. "We want to be able to pay our staff more competitively, but we cannot maintain the same number of employees and pay them more. There aren't new resources coming in and the enrollment trend is going down."